Ramona solar farm wins approval

County supervisors Wednesday approved a 43-acre solar energy installation on a Ramona pig farm, rejecting opposition from neighbors who say it will be an eyesore near the heart of town.

Supervisor Dianne Jacob cast the lone vote against it, saying the location at 1650 Warnock Drive was the wrong spot and that no one in town supports it.

“I believe in solar energy projects but the key is to put them in the right location,” said Jacob, whose district includes Ramona. “It defies common sense to believe this project complies with the zoning ordinance.”

At issue was a major use permit approved for Sol Orchard, LLC by county planners and the Planning Commission.

But the four supervisor votes in favor the project sends a signal to semirural areas that installation of photo pholtaic panels in their communities will be an allowable use as solar energy becomes an increasing component of the energy mix.

The panel was unanimous on one point, agreeing that a comprehensive renewable energy policy is needed answering where in the unincorporated wind and solar energy farms can go up and how they should be designed.

Jacob tried to scuttle the project, proposing it be sent back to county planners for more analysis and identification of a more remote venue.

“There is no community interest in supporting this project,” Jacob said. “Alternative sites have not been fairly analyzed.”

Supervisor Dave Roberts appeared ready to back that idea, but changed his mind when it came time to vote at the conclusion of a more than three-hour hearing.

“I try to respect the Ramona community and the Ramona planning group, but I think this is a very good project and I do not want to lose out on a solar opportunity,” he said.

Sol Orchard officials said the Bousema property was the most ideal of any it had looked at, citing its flat terrain and proximity to an electrical feeder line and a substation to handle the power.

The panels, which range from 8 to 11.5 feet in height, will convert sunlight into 7.5 megawatts of electricity, enough to power several thousand homes.

Sol Orchard vice president Will Pritchard said the electricity will stay in Ramona.

“We need to be close to the substation and we are one mile west,” he said, adding other sites his company considered were insufficient. “The project has been designed to have hundreds of feet of buffering space.”

But Jim Piva, chairman of the community planning group, argued that the fencing, trees and shrubbery required to screen the panels isn’t enough.

“This would represent a total visual destruction of this valley,” Piva said.

Another opponent, James Cooper, said Sol Orchard should serve as a catalyst for clear-cut rules for future solar and wind energy farm siting.